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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27172031">FO(U)RTUNE | NCT Mark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/leemhjae/pseuds/leemhjae'>leemhjae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AAHHHHHHHH SJAKSJJSJS, Alternate Universe - College/University, Crimes &amp; Criminals, Detectives, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fortune Telling, Help, How Do I Tag, Kidnapping, Murder, My First AO3 Post, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Police, Romance, i dont know what else to tag, im sorry there is no smut, johnny doyoung and yuta are detectives, mark and jaehyun are best friends, please be nice its my first time here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:33:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,501</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27172031</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/leemhjae/pseuds/leemhjae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Tell me your name.” The old lady's voice was low and hoarse and she did not bother looking at Mark.</p><p>“Um, Mark?” He answered hesitantly.</p><p>"Number four."</p><p>"Keep your eyes open." Her tone was dead serious. "Keep your eyes open for the number four if you do not wish to suffer from fatal consequences, which if were to happen, would have to be faced by either you or your soulmate."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Original Female Character(s), Mark Lee (NCT)/Original Female Character(s), Suh Youngho | Johnny/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i'm not a professional writer, i'm neither a college student nor a detective/police, and i don't live in korea so i apologize in advance if there are many things that are wrong and do not make sense. especially when it comes to the detective work and university life, many things are made up and probably does not happen/exist in actual life. i'm still in high school so i really don't know much</p><p>nevertheless, i hope that all of you here will enjoy my story, no matter how unrealistic it may be. anyway this is all just part of my imagination and everything is purely fictional, so let's not take it too seriously yeah? just close your eyes and pretend to not see my mistakes 👁️👄👁️</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Our lives are so boring.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Jaehyun agreed with Mark.</p><p>“I long for something interesting to happen so that it would be a little more exciting,” said Mark while chewing his tteokbokki.</p><p>“Yo,” Jaehyun turned his face to look at Mark, “Be careful with what you wish for.”</p><p>Mark laughed at Jaehyun's reaction. “C'mon, it's just a harmless wish.”</p><p>Jaehyun shook his head. He didn't agree, but he was not going to comment any further.</p><p>Mark and Jaehyun were eating some of their favourite street food at a nearby night market. It was a Friday night and they had just completed some assignments in school, so they wanted to take a short break and walk around.</p><p>Both of them rose from the bench they were sitting on and walked to the nearby dustbin after they had finished eating their chewy rice cakes.</p><p>“I'm thirsty, let's get something to drink,” suggested Jaehyun after they threw their empty plastic bowls into the bin.</p><p>“Okay.” Mark suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing Jaehyun to stop walking too. He raised his hand and pointed to a tent located not too far away from where they were standing. “What's inside that tent?”</p><p>“How should I know?” Jaehyun squinted at the signboard in front of the tent. “I can't read the words from here.”</p><p>“You wanna go see?”</p><p>“Yeah, I'm curious too.”</p><p>
  <strong>---</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>FORTUNE TELLING</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Know more about your future with just 5000 won. One person at a time only. Leave the money in the tray right when you step in, sit down on the ground in front of me and do not speak until I tell you to.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>---</strong>
</p><p>Leaning away from the signboard, Mark laughed as he pushed his glasses up his nose and stood up straight again. “Do people actually believe this?”</p><p>Jaehyun leaned away too after he finished reading what was on the signboard. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and replied, “I guess some people do.”</p><p>Mark shrugged too. He placed his hands in the pocket of his jeans as he looked at the mysterious tent and its surroundings. The tent was black in colour and the only entrance was just behind the signboard. There was a pair of sneakers outside the tent, so Mark assumed that the fortune teller inside was already having a customer.</p><p>“I wonder who's the idiot wasting precious money inside,” commented Mark.</p><p>“Hey.” Jaehyun turned around and gave a certain look full of meaning to Mark, which he was able to read almost instantly. He grunted, already knowing what was on Jaehyun's mind.</p><p>“No, I'm not going to go in there.”</p><p>“Mark, don't be such a wimp. It's just for fun!”</p><p>Mark crossed his arms and his hands gripped his upper arms tight — as though he's using them as a protective barrier. He slowly shook his head.</p><p>“Say whatever you want, I refuse to join.”</p><p>Just as he finished his sentence, a girl with a cap covering her face hurriedly put on her shoes and walked out of the tent. She walked straight ahead and fixed her eyes on the ground, therefore, Mark and Jaehyun could not see her face.</p><p>Jaehyun grinned as he pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans. “You're going next.”</p><p>Before Mark could even say anything, Jaehyun had already took off his shoes and stepped into the tent. Sighing, Mark went to the bench beside the signboard and sat down, waiting for Jaehyun to come out.</p><p>After five minutes or so, Jaehyun was done. Mark just stared at him without leaving the bench.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Hurry up. We can tell each other what she said regarding our futures after this.”</p><p>Mark felt like Jaehyun would bug him to no end, so he gave in.</p><p>“Fine, fine,” Mark agreed with an exaggerated sigh. Jaehyun just laughed, knowing that Mark had to be pushed in order to try anything new.</p><p>Mark unwillingly took off his shoes and placed it right outside the tent. He then stepped inside and placed the money on the tray which was on a table placed right beside the opening of the tent. Due to the colour and thick material of the tentage, he was greeted by a dark and gloomy atmosphere, which made the hair on his arms stand on end.</p><p>His eyes nervously darted around the tent. It was pretty small and there was barely anything inside. An old lady was sitting down with her legs crossed and there was a couple of papers and pencils in front of her. She seemed to be engrossed with her activity of writing, or perhaps drawing, on those papers. Mark wanted to leave on the spot because atmosphere made him felt so uneasy, but he decided that since he had already came inside, he would just go on.</p><p>Mark walked ahead and took his place on the floor, right infront of the fortune teller, waiting for any next instructions on what to do next. Since this was his first time visiting a fortune teller, he did not exactly know if there was anything he was supposed to do.</p><p>“Tell me your name.” the old lady's voice was low and hoarse and she did not bother looking at Mark. With her back slouched, her hands were still busy drawing some odd, unknown symbols on the piece of paper on the ground, which was separating her and Mark.</p><p>“Um, Mark?” he answered hesitantly.</p><p>“Number four.”</p><p>Mark was completely taken aback by what the old woman had said. It was beyond his expectations for a number to be the first thing that a fortune teller had to say about his future. He thought that fortune tellers would probably ask a few questions about his current life, ask for his birthday, or have a crystal ball or something.</p><p>After some time has passed, he began to frown, deep in thought. However, he still did not say anything.</p><p>“Not like I know what to reply with anyway,” thought Mark, “seems bogus.”</p><p>The old woman placed the pencil on the floor, right beside the paper and straightened her back. Still not looking at Mark, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thereafter closing her eyes. Mark wondered what the sigh was for, but he did not dare to ask.</p><p>The tent was so silent that you can hear a pin drop. Mark noticed that the frown on her face had gotten even deeper and he could even catch a drop of sweat dripping down the side of her face.</p><p>Her eyes suddenly shot open and she gave a piercing stare into Mark's eyes. As he was unable to handle the intensity, Mark swallowed his saliva and nervously looked away. The way the scary old woman was staring at him was sending chills down his spine. The increasingly tense atmosphere in the tent was not helping him at all too.</p><p>Mark was scared. No, that's not the right word. Mark was absolutely frightened and terrified and he was desperate to leave the tent, he was never comfortable from the start, but he could not leave because he wanted to hear more from the old lady who could supposedly see his future.</p><p>“Keep your eyes open.” her tone was dead serious. “Keep your eyes open for the number four if you do not wish to suffer from fatal consequences, which if were to happen, would have to be faced by either you or your soulmate,”</p><p>Mark immediately blurted out, “What?” He then tried to regain his composure in order to show the fortune teller that he did not believe a single word that she just said.</p><p>Initially, Mark was skeptical, but her explanation had piqued his curiosity. “I'm sorry, why number four?”</p><p>She simply shook her head and refused to answer him.</p><p>“You and your soulmate have crossed paths today.”</p><p>Her statement made Mark freeze. He could not even manage to come up with a response as his brain tried to process what she just said.</p><p>“What?” that was all that Mark managed to croak out. His throat felt as dry as a desert, and his eyes did not blink for another ten seconds or so. This time, he did not try to hide his shock.</p><p>“Bother to explain? What does the number four have to do with my future? What do you mean by fatal consequences? Who is my soulmate? Where did I meet her?”</p><p>She simply ignored his string of questions. “You just have to keep your eyes open, that's all I can tell you.”</p><p>“What do you mean that's all you can tell me? Surely you know more? I have the right to know about my future!” Mark raised his voice to protest, irritated with how she refused to be straightforward.</p><p>“The future can be changed. If you keep your eyes open and do things right, a tragic demise can be prevented.”</p><p>“That still does not explain anything! You have to tell me more!”</p><p>Mark was exasperated. Her words was driving him crazy because it explained nothing at all. She kept repeating "keep your eyes open" over and over again, which was leaving him in a state of bewilderment.</p><p>“Your time is over. Please leave now.” the sternness in her voice made Mark realize that there was no room for negotiation between them at all.</p><p>Feeling defeated, Mark got up to his feet and walked towards the opening of the tent.</p><p>“Keep your eyes open for the number four.”</p><p>Again. Mark rolled his eyes and did not turn around to look at her. He mumbled under his breath, “How do people bring themselves to believe any of this crap?”</p><p>When Mark came out, he saw that Jaehyun was sitting at the bench that he sat on previously, scrolling through Instagram. He looked up from his phone when he heard footsteps and immediately stood up when he saw that Mark had already came out of the tent..</p><p>Upon seeing the look of dissatisfaction on Mark's face, Jaehyun asked, “How was it?”</p><p>Mark scoffed. “Do you actually believe anything that the con woman inside said?”</p><p>“Well,” Jaehyun turned around and took a quick glance at the tent. “Not really. Isn't it just for fun?”</p><p>“Fun my ass.”</p><p>“You sound like a sore loser. What happened in there?”</p><p>“Wait, weren't we about to buy drinks? Let's get it and talk then. I'm really thirsty.”</p><p>Noticing that there were a group of teenage boys crowding at the entrance of the booth, Jaehyun and Mark moved away and left. The mysterious exterior of the tent which looked so out of place had probably piqued their interest, just like how it had piqued Mark and Jaehyun's interest a while ago.</p><p>There were a few people queueing to buy drinks, not that it was a problem for Mark and Jaehyun as they were in no rush.</p><p>“So, mind to tell me what happened?” Jaehyun repeated his question after they got in line, curious about why Mark was so upset.</p><p>“What number did the fortune teller give you?”</p><p>“Number?” Jaehyun asked, visibly confused. “What number?”</p><p>Mark raised an eyebrow. “Did she not give you a number?”</p><p>“Yeah?” Jaehyun looked up, taking a few seconds to recall everything that the fortune teller had told him. “Definitely not a single mention of any number.”</p><p>Mark crossed his left hand over his chest, and it touched his right elbow. He began to lightly tap his right hand, which he had formed into a fist, against his lips while being deep in thought. It was something he had a habit of doing whenever he was thinking.</p><p>“It makes no sense,” said Mark, taking a step forward as the queue became shorter.</p><p>“What do you mean?” asked Jaehyun as he took a step forward too.</p><p>“Nothing she told me made sense.”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“All she told me was that I have to keep my eyes open for the number four. And...” Mark trailed off, unsure of whether he should tell Jaehyun.</p><p>“And?” Jaehyun raised his eyebrow, aware of the uneasiness in his best friend's voice.</p><p>“She told me that I have crossed paths with my soulmate today.”</p><p>“What? Wait, what do you-” Jaehyun was cut off by the voice of the cashier at the drink stall.</p><p>“Hi, what drinks are you getting?” The female cashier gave a slight smile at both Mark and Jaehyun.</p><p>“Uh, 2 glasses of Yujacha please,” said Mark. She nodded and went to prepare their drinks.</p><p>“Mark, fucking explain what you just told me.”</p><p>“That's really all of it. She told me that I have met my soulmate today and that her existence in my life has something to do with the number four,” answered Mark while passing some notes to the cashier, as he had noticed her coming back to the counter to give them their drinks.</p><p>Jaehyun didn't respond and just furrowed his eyebrows together, unsure of how to react to what Mark told him a few seconds ago. Bizarre, he thought.</p><p>“Sir, you're short of 400 wo-”</p><p>“FOUR?!” screamed Mark in horror, as though the number four had scarred him for life.</p><p>The female cashier was about to put the glasses down on the counter. However, Mark's sudden shout had startled her and caused some of the Yuja Tea to splash onto Mark's face and shirt as he was standing directly in front of her.</p><p>Gasping, her eyes widened in shock and she quickly placed the glasses on the counter as Mark wiped his hand over his eyes and face. His jaw was clenched as he broke out in an angry outburst, “You! What the hell are you doing?! How can you spill drinks on my face and shirt?” Mark grumbled.</p><p>“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!” she bowed profusely, knowing the consequences if customers get angry.</p><p>“Your apology is not enough! What are you going to do about my shirt? I want you to be responsible! Buy me a new one!” Mark lashed out.</p><p>The apologetic face on the cashier quickly turned into one of irritation as she straightened her posture again.</p><p>“Excuse me? You, shouting in the middle of nowhere, was why I got shocked and spilt the drink on you! How the hell is that my fault?”</p><p>“If you were a little more careful, none of this would have happened!”</p><p>“Maybe if YOU did not shriek in my ears, none of this would have happened?”</p><p>Jaehyun, who had been a bystander since just now, quickly stepped in after he realized that all eyes in the tent were on them.</p><p>He hurriedly placed 400 won on the counter. “Hi, I apologize on behalf of him. He's emotionally unstable right now, please excuse his lack of manners! We'll leave now!”</p><p>Embarrassed by the attention, Jaehyun grabbed Mark and dragged him out of the tent while everyone continued to watch the two of them. He shot a quick look at the cashier and mouthed an "I'm sorry" at her, hoping that she could read his lips.</p><p>The moment they stepped out, Jaehyun let go of Mark and began to laugh. To be precise, laughing at Mark. Mark, who was squeezing the bottom of his t-shirt as well as its sleeves, gave Jaehyun a dirty look and stopped what he was doing.</p><p>“What the fuck are you laughing at?” asked Mark angrily.</p><p>“You.” Jaehyun continued to laugh. “You don't believe what the fortune teller said but you freaked out the moment you heard the number four.”</p><p>Mark groaned and started walking in the direction of the exit for the night market. “Alright, alright, perhaps because I was thinking about it, I could not control my shock when the number came out of her mouth.”</p><p>Jaehyun nodded, “I know.”</p><p>Mark and Jaehyun turned around the corner to go back to their dorm. Mark decided to just buy a bottle of mineral water from the vending at the side of the road and share it with Jaehyun.</p><p>As he was picking up the bottle from the bottom of the vending machine, Jaehyun brought up the topic about the mysterious old woman again.</p><p>“About the fortune teller, was that all that she told you? That you and your soulmate crossed paths today, and that you have to keep your eyes open for the number four?”</p><p>Mark twisted the bottle cap open and gulped down a quarter of the bottle at one go. He then passed the bottle to Jaehyun, who also gulped down a huge amount of the plain water.</p><p>“She said something else too,” Mark paused, trying to remember the exact words that the old woman used. Jaehyun remained quiet, patiently waiting for what his black-haired friend was going to tell him. “She said that I have to keep my eyes open so that I would not make a mistake. Because if I do, either me or my soulmate, one of us will die.”</p><p>“What?” Jaehyun put the cap of the bottle of water back on after he took a sip. “That's wild as hell.”</p><p>“I wouldn't exactly describe it as wild, Jaehyun,” said Mark, frowning. He leant against the brick wall and faced Jaehyun. “In fact, I find it creepy.”</p><p>Seeing no response from Jaehyun, Mark sighed. “Tell me, should I be worried? It's not that I believe anything she said but I just feel on edge at the slightest possibility of it being true,”</p><p>“If you see it that way, there is definitely a possibility of it happening. I mean, like that Tiktok trend or something said, the probability is low but never zero,” Jaehyun gave his remark about Mark's situation.</p><p>“I can't believe you're giving a Tiktok reference in a situation as serious as this.” Mark chuckled lightly. “Then what about you? What did she say?”</p><p>“Not as bad as yours. She told me something serious would be happening to the people around me in the near future, but she said that it will not affect me. At least not in a negative way. Other than that, just some other minor details. Nothing serious or worth thinking twice about,”</p><p>The air between them immediately became a little less tense. Mark shook his head and started walking again, with Jaehyun following behind him.</p><p>“I'm sorry, there should not be a need to think so much about what she said. After all, we don't even know if she is really a fortune teller.”</p><p>“And personally, I don't really believe in that sort of stuff. Just not really my sort of thing, you know,” Mark continued.</p><p>“Yeah, me too.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Four months later,</em>
</p><p>"So, do you think there was any truth to what the fortune teller said?" asked Jaehyun after taking a sip of water.</p><p>"Huh?" Mark looked up from the book that he was reading. "What a random question."</p><p>"I realized that nothing much happened to you, or to us, even though a few months has passed."</p><p>Mark shrugged and straightened his sitting posture. His eyes wandered around the study corner. Everyone else was just studying, talking with their friends or huddling around tables doing group work together. Even him and Jaehyun were just doing the same things as them. Nothing out of the ordinary.</p><p>"I told you, I don't believe in that crap," Mark reiterated while keeping the book he was reading previously inside his bag. He then stood up and pushed his chair in, and waited for Jaehyun to finish packing his bag.</p><p>"Hey Mark, hello!"</p><p>Mark turned around in the direction and his heart immediately began to beat a little faster. It was Mari, someone that he met in another elective module whom he had a small crush on. Well, small or not, he did not know because he did not see her around much, but when they do, Mark always became a little nervous.</p><p>The thing is, Mark had never dared to approach her because she was dating Taeyong, the most good-looking guy in campus. He was aware that he did not stand a chance against the popular, sociable, handsome and rich Taeyong. The smart, beautiful, and kind-hearted Mari was perfect to be together with him. In fact, while she was greeting Mark, her all-rounder, hotshot boyfriend was walking beside her. He was friends with Jaehyun, so he also gave a small nod of acknowledgement at the two of them.</p><p>Mark gave her a smile while waving back. "Hi, Mari."</p><p>She went down the staircase just a few seconds after, happily talking to her lover. Just those 2 seconds of interaction between them was enough to give Mark an instant boost of serotonin.</p><p>"My, my, look at that bright smile on your face!" teased Jaehyun while putting on his backpack on his left shoulder.</p><p>"Shut up," said Mark with a small laugh.</p><p>"Do you think there's any chance of her being your soulmate?"</p><p>"Hmmm, good question." Mark bit the inside of his cheek. "Did I had any interaction with her on the day we went to the fortune teller?"</p><p>Jaehyun jokingly grimaced. "You should know better since you're the one who likes her."</p><p>Mark scowled. He could not remember too.</p><p>"Did she say 'talk', or 'crossed paths'?"</p><p>"If I remember correctly," Mark's forehead creased, thinking hard. "It was most likely 'crossed paths'."</p><p>"Then it could have been anyone that you literally crossed paths with in this campus, at the night market, in the streets, anywhere at all. Not helpful."</p><p>"Wait, you're right. We did not necessarily have to talk."</p><p>Jaehyun nodded and looked at the watch that he wore on his left hand.</p><p>"By the way, anything in mind for dinner?"</p><p>"Subway? I feel like eating Subway," Mark replied.</p><p>"Okay, then we can meet at entrance of Block B. Gotta leave now, my next class is in the other building. See you later." Jaehyun waved at Mark as he went down the stairs in great haste.</p><p>Mark made his way to his next class which was located at the fourth floor. It was an elective module which he had no interest in, but something happened which left him with no choice but to go for it. During the time of registration for modules at the start of the year, his computer suddenly crashed. As a result, Mark did not manage to apply for the modules he wanted and he had to take up whatever slots left in the less popular modules.</p><p>He did not have any particular disliking for Philosophy, but as someone who was inclined to Math, he was not a big fan of writing essays. Furthermore, the professor for the module in question was notorious among students for his love of writing, which shaped the way his classes was conducted. It was in no way that Mark was looking forward to this class, but he figured out that it should be a little less boring than History.</p><p>After pushing the door, Mark found out that most of the students were already in the classroom. The tables were made to accommodate two chairs, and there were very few tables left with nobody who had occupied them, so Mark took his place at an empty table near the back door.</p><p>A few more students arrived after Mark, but none of them sat beside him. The classroom was almost full and the professor came not long after. He seemed spiritless, as though he was forced to be here, but at the same time he had a rather strict expression.</p><p>"Alright, welcome to Philosophy. I am Dr. Kim and I'm going to briefly explain how this module is going to work. I'm going to be honest here, even though this is an elective module, don't expect to-"</p><p>The sound of the door opening interrupted Dr. Kim's opening speech and made half of the class turn around to the direction of the door, including Mark. The girl in a green hoodie and white cap gave a small bow as a sign of apology and she walked in the direction of a girl whom Mark assumed was her friend, because they exchanged smiles.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>"Young lady, you're four minutes late."</p>
</div><p>"Ya, sorry," she apologized without a hint of remorse in her voice, as she was pulling a chair to sit down on. Everybody in that room could easily tell that she was not sorry at all, even the old lecturer who did not say anything more.</p><p>Mark took a quick glance at her and shook his head, afterwards murmuring under his breath, "Another one of those morons with no concept of time."</p><p>The male professor cleared his throat. "Alright, as I was saying, don't expect to slack. I have a certain expectation of how much my students should know at the end of this module, so you better pay attention or I will not hesitate to fail you. Everything clear so far?"</p><p>His eyes started scanning the sea of worn out faces sitting in front of him. Some mouthed a 'yes', some gave a slight nod and some were not looking at him at all. <em>Whether they take this seriously or not is none of his business</em>, he thought.</p><p>Dr. Kim continued. "I will be giving an exam at the end of this module. However, that will only account to 20% of the final grade. The other 80% will be derived from written essays, which will have to be completed every two weeks."</p><p>"What?!"</p><p>"Every two weeks?"</p><p>"Isn't that too much work?"</p><p>The announcement caused an uproar in the class because essay-writing is not something most students like. The professor's face was devoid of any emotion, as though he was already used to receiving that sort of reaction. He did not even try to settle the class down.</p><p>"No wonder this module is so unpopular among seniors," Mark thought, "Especially because of this old man, who is an essay-writing freak."</p><p>"Sir, how long would the essays have to be?"</p><p>"I'd like it to be at least 2000 words."</p><p>The incomprehensible mutterings and complaints became even louder, and Mark thought that the class sounded no different from the night market that he and Jaehyun usually frequented. He remained silent, opting to not contribute to the noise and just observing the behaviour of the other students in the classroom.</p><p>"Silence!" his raucous voice made all the noise in the classroom die down. "You signed up for this module to get your credits."</p><p>"<em>No, I didn't,</em>" Mark silently disagreed. "<em>I had no other choice.</em>"</p><p>All the other students in the class was probably thinking like Mark too.</p><p>"I'm not a heartless man. Everything given in this the first half of this module would be done in pairs, and I have decided on the pairings. You will be working with them for half of the semester and I shall not entertain any requests to change partners."</p><p>Nobody bothered protesting, because they realized that the old man did not give a damn about what his students think. Everything would go his way and they were all there to merely listen and obey.</p><p>"I will be announcing the pairings now. After I am done, please move and take a seat beside your respective partners."</p><p>The professor took out a piece of paper from a stack of teaching materials that he had brought along with him. His eyes lingered over the lines and lines of words written on that piece of paper to make sure that it was the right sheet.</p><p>"Lee Je-no and Na Jaemin... Seo Changbin and Felix Lee... Jung Wooyoung and Choi San..."</p><p>"...Mark Lee and Lee Dong-hyuck..."</p><p>Mark watched everyone shuffling seats and starting new conversations with their Philosophy partners. He waited and waited, but he realized that no Lee Dong-hyuck had moved to sit beside him, or at least made a gesture to him to sit beside them.</p><p>He decided to raise his hand to get the old professor's attention. "Excuse me Sir, I do not have a partner."</p><p>"What's your name?"</p><p>"Mark Lee."</p><p>"Oh." Dr. Kim frowned. "Give me a moment."</p><p>Dr. Kim made an 'aha' sound. "I have forgotten about the transfer of four students, so I'm going to have to make some adjustments to the affected students." Dr. Kim brought the paper closer to his face and made some scribbles. "Alright, the new pairings are Lee Minho and Han Jisung, as well as Park Hana and Mark Lee."</p><p>Mark nodded. As long as he had a partner, everything should be fine. A few seconds later, the girl named Park Hana moved to sit beside Mark.</p><p>Mark and Hana turned around to face each other, intending to introduce themselves, but they gasped in shock the moment they made eye contact.</p><p>"YOU?!" Mark and Hana yelled at the same time, making the entire class turn around to look at them.</p><p>Mark stood up and pointed his index finger at Hana's face. He tried to lower his voice and asked, "You?! What? What are you doing here?"</p><p>"Shouldn't I be asking you that too?!"</p><p>Mark sat back down on his chair. "Sorry, I would not like to do this together with you."</p><p>"What makes you think that I'm willing to do this with you too?" Hana gave Mark a disgusted look.</p><p>She sighed and got up from her seat. "I'm going to ask for a change."</p><p>Mark watched her walked away from the table, to talk to the professor. She made it so obvious that she was definitely not paying attention to what the professor said beforehand.</p><p>"Um, Dr. Kim?" Hana paused, to make sure that Dr. Kim was listening to her. "Can I change partners?"</p><p>Dr. Kim briefly looked up from the book he was deeply engrossed in. "No. Weren't you listening?"</p><p>"Wait, please hear me out! Please, um, I think being partners with him will negatively impact my grades, can I just switch with-"</p><p>"-I said no. If I do allow you to change, what are the other students going to say? Resolve your differences and learn to work together."</p><p>Hana hung her head down in defeat and mumbled a reluctant 'thank you' at the professor. She went back to her seat and slumped on it with a small pout.</p><p>Mark, with his arms crossed, leaned back on his chair and observed Hana quietly.</p><p>"Did you really think it is possible to change?" Mark sneered at her.</p><p>Hana pulled a face.</p><p>---</p><p>"Guess what," said Mark after taking the first bite of his meatball sub.</p><p>Jaehyun raised his left eyebrow, unsure of what Mark wanted him to guess. "What?"</p><p>"The female cashier that spilled water on me is my Philosophy partner!"</p><p>"Oh, Hana?"</p><p>"Huh? How do you know her?" asked Mark in confusion while wiping some chilli sauce that had smeared the side of his mouth.</p><p>"The guy she always hangs out with is in majoring in Physics too," replied Jaehyun.</p><p>"Then why didn't you talk to her when we crossed paths with her at the night market?"</p><p>"We exchanged smiles, perhaps you did not see it because I was standing behind you."</p><p>Mark nodded in understanding.</p><p>"Did you make up with her?"</p><p>"Make up?" Mark huffed. "No way, we barely spoke."</p><p>"Then how the hell are you going to spend hours writing essays together?" questioned Jaehyun, genuinely curious about how things were going to work out between Mark and Hana.</p><p>Mark shrugged and admitted, "I don't really know."</p><p>"You were just agitated that night, and I'm pretty sure Hana is a nice person too. It's nothing else but a case of bad first impressions."</p><p>Jaehyun continued. "Lower your ego and just bury the hatchet, yeah?"</p><p>Mark said nothing and stuffed his mouth full with what was left of his sub.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>"Damn it! Philosophy is next Monday and me and Hana still have not done anything," grunted Mark as he raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.</p><p>Jaehyun looked up from his Physics worksheet and started spinning his pen. "You still have not apologized?"</p><p>"Nah man."</p><p>"You know, you were actually in the wrong. You were the one who overreacted." </p><p>"I kinda know that, but my ego is too high to apologize first. Besides that, I think she's still angry. Have you seen her face? She looks like she's ready to murder someone at any time of the day," babbled Mark.</p><p><em>He's already in his third year of college</em>, Jaehyun thought, <em>but the way he thinks is still so immature.</em></p><p>"What's on your mind? Why are you shaking your head?"</p><p>"Tch, it's nothing," replied Jaehyun. "Just do it, she's not gonna kill you or anything. I doubt she's going to find you and apologize first."</p><p>Mark leaned back on his chair. "Then do you by any chance have the number of her Physics friend?"</p><p>"You talking about Lucas?"</p><p>"Yeah, probably, if that's his name."</p><p>"Of course. I'll send his number to you, give me a moment."</p><p>Mark received Lucas' number from Jaehyun and immediately texted him.</p><p>---</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>
    <span class="u">
      <em>TODAY, 4:04 PM</em>
    </span>
  </p>
</div><div>
  <p>MARK:<br/>
- yo mark here, do u by any<br/>
chance know where hana is?</p>
</div><p>LUCAS:<br/>
- yooo yea shes w me<br/>
- u looking for her?</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>MARK:<br/>
- yeah dude wru</p>
</div><p>LUCAS:<br/>
- 4th floors study corner</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>MARK:<br/>
- okay thanks bro</p>
</div><p>LUCAS:<br/>
- ight np bro</p><p>---</p><p>“They're on the fourth floor, should I go now? Like today?”</p><p>"The faster the better. Your assignment needs to be done."</p><p>"Alright, I'm going to look for her."</p><p>"Mm, good luck."</p><p>---</p><p>"Hana."</p><p>The person called immediately turned around. Hana was surprised to see Mark standing behind her, black Jansport bag hanging on his right shoulder with a bored expression on his face, but she hid her emotion well. </p><p>"Can I talk to you? Just for a while." </p><p>It's not like she did not know why he went to find her.</p><p>Hana turned her body to face Lucas again and secretly rolled her eyes, which made him lightly chuckle because he was amused with how immature his friend was acting. She had told him about Mark, and he thought of the same thing as Jaehyun which was that they just had bad first impressions, so it was funny to see them having to face each other. </p><p>She leaned forward and whispered to him, "Excuse me for a few minutes while I talk to that imbecile."</p><p>Lucas laughed, and motioned her to quickly go to Mark.</p><p>"Sorry Lucas, let me borrow her for a while," said Mark. Lucas gave him a dismissive wave of his hand, as though he was trying to express "don't worry about it".</p><p>When Mark saw Hana standing up, he walked out of the study room and waited for her outside.</p><p>Mark shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and let out a harsh breath. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm not as rude as you think I am."</p><p>"Are you sure about that?"</p><p>Mark raised his right hand, as though he was taking an oath. "I swear, I'm a nice guy."</p><p>"Okay sure, what now?" asked Hana as she folded her arms and leaned on the wall.</p><p>Mark rubbed the back of his neck while thinking of how to say what was on his mind.</p><p>"Uh, Philosophy class is in another four days," Mark stated. "We need to work together, otherwise we'll be getting into trouble."</p><p>Mark stopped talking to observe Hana, trying to see if there were any changes of expressions on her face. She seemed fine, so he continued.</p><p>"I really apologize if you're still angry at me, because I probably made you get into trouble at work, but can we meet up during the weekend? I know we don't even know each other yet, but I really want us to get shit done."</p><p>"<em>Please say yes, please say yes.</em>" Mark made a silent prayer. "<em>I can't imagine how awkward it's going to be if she says no.</em>"</p><p>She thought about it for a while, contemplating whether she wanted to agree or not.</p><p>With a small nod in agreement, Hana answered, "Yeah, sure."</p><p>Mark let out a breath he did not know he was holding.</p><p>"Okay, then can you give me your number?"</p>
<p></p><div>
<p></p><div><p>
      <em>
        <span class="u">TODAY, 4:44 PM</span>
      </em>
    </p></div><div><p>MARK:<br/>
- hey its mark</p></div><div><p>HANA:<br/>
- hey</p></div><div><p>MARK:<br/>
- so when are you free?</p></div><div><p>HANA:<br/>
- sunday evening?<br/>
- i dont rly have any other<br/>
  evenings yeah theres tons<br/>
  of assignments</p></div><div><p>MARK:<br/>
- its fine me too lmao<br/>
- what time</p></div><div><p>HANA:<br/>
- 4?</p></div><div><p>MARK:<br/>
- okay<br/>
- is sunday 4pm at the starbucks<br/>
in daehak-ro fine?</p></div><div><p>HANA:<br/>
- yea sure</p></div><div><p>MARK:<br/>
- alright cya</p></div></div><div>
  <p>---</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yo, uh, hi," greeted Mark awkwardly as Hana took her seat beside him in the coffeehouse. He was awkward around new people, unlike his best friend Jaehyun, who could instantly connect with almost everyone he talked to.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yo, so how are we doing this?" asked Hana as she took her laptop out of her bag.</p>
</div><p>Mark told Hana what he had in mind for them to do the assignment. He wanted them to do it step-by-step, doing research first, then compiling all the relevant information and after that, the two of them would discuss on how to write it. Hana, who had been listening intently, had no rejections to what Mark proposed and immediately started doing her part of the research.</p><p>Mark was trying to focus on his work. However, he could not stop thinking about how to make friends with Hana. Mark was indeed a shy person, but he liked to talk with people he was spending time with, assignment partners included, so he was really uncomfortable with the silence between the two of them.</p><p>He could not take it anymore. He was about to explode from being unable to handle the awkwardness between them.</p><p>Mark nervously stole a glance at Hana, trying to think of how to start a conversation with her. He did it a few more times, hoping that maybe she would look back at him or something and from there they could start talking.</p><p>He was about to take another secret glance at her, when she suddenly stopped typing and her eyes bored into his, making him even more nervous than before.</p><p>Hana totally turned her body to the side, to face Mark. </p><p>"Is there something you want from me?"</p><p>"Uh, I- I," Mark suddenly lost his ability to speak coherently and began to rub the back of his neck. At times like this, he wished that he had brought Jaehyun along with him even when he was not involved at all in his assignment work.</p><p>Mark hesitantly asked, "I- You- Areyoustillangrywithme?"</p><p>"Huh? What are you saying?" asked Hana in confusion.</p><p>"Sorry." He took a deep breath in an attempt to relax. "I was trying to ask whether you're still angry with me."</p><p>"Angry? Was I ever?"</p><p>It was Mark's turn to be confused. </p><p>"Aren't you angry with me? From that night and because you're now forced to work together with me?"</p><p>A small chuckle managed to escape before Hana was able to suppress it and she gave Mark a smile. "You're intimidated by me, aren't you?"</p><p>Mark was surprised to see Hana smiling for the first time. He never knew someone could look so different when they smiled.</p><p>He rubbed the back of his neck again, something he always did when he felt awkward. "Uh, not really, but like... Like, I can't really tell what you're thinking? And I don't talk much to girls."</p><p>"Ah, I see." Hana laughed again. "I apologize. It takes a while for me to warm up to people whom I don't know. Also, I'm not angry at you, I never was."</p><p>Mark finally felt like he could loosen up, now that he knew that Hana was not angry with him.</p><p>"Hey, don't be so tense. I just can't stop myself from answering back to people when I'm not in the wrong, which was probably why I got fired from my job."</p><p>"Huh? Fired?" What Hana just told Mark had shocked him. "Wait, like, because of me?"</p><p>Hana turned to her laptop again and continued typing. "Nah man, I think the owner was just already annoyed with me. You're not the first customer I talked back to."</p><p>"Then are you fine with not having a job?"</p><p>"Not a problem. I was just bored and I frequently go to that night market, so I worked there for fun. Anyway, there's more schoolwork now so I have to utilize my time wisely."</p><p>"Good to hear that," said Mark with a smile, afterwards resuming his research.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Did the two of you do this in a rush?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark and Hana exchanged looks, as Dr. Kim continued reading through their essay. He had specifically instructed the class to print out all their written works because he did not want to spend hours straining his eyes in front of the monitor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both of them stayed silent while Dr. Kim almost threw his reading glasses on the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is an atrocious piece of work! You know what this looks like? It looks like you were just copy pasting information from several different sources without a care in the world if they flowed well together or not! What is your notion, Mark Lee? Where are your views, Park Hana? Are the two of you even listening to me in class?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pair stood quietly in front of their professor's desk, with their heads hung low and hands behind their backs, as though they were being reprimanded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh dear, Jesus Christ, I'm about to puke blood. Please take this piece of gar- Oh good Lord, just get it out of my sight,” said Dr. Kim dramatically, while putting the back of his palm against his temple as if he was about to pass out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark picked up the sheet of paper and hid it behind his back as the old professor gestured to them to go back to their seats. They were the last pair to have their homework for the fortnight checked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not long after Mark and Hana sat down, Dr. Kim got up from his seat and walked to the centre of the class.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Philosophy Class 1B of 2019…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“.... ALL YOUR ESSAYS ARE TERRIBLE!” Dr. Kim suddenly yelled, making the entire class dead silent. “Rotten! Yucky! Absolute dog shit! I could feel my blood pressure going up reading your essays! I can tell that none of you are putting in any effort!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dr. Kim took a sharp breath and rubbed his temples. “You know what? Let's not do any Philosophy today. I'm going to teach all of you here how to format and write your essays, because it looks like none of you here were taught how to do it in high school.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He went back to his seat and started setting up his computer. As he was doing that, he apathetically announced, “After this lesson, go back and rewrite your essays. I want to see at least 2000 words from each pair in two weeks' time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The entire class seemed to sigh all at once and Dr. Kim pretended to not have heard it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was around nine o'clock in the morning. Mark and Jaehyun were on their way to campus after meeting up to buy egg sandwiches for their breakfast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you hear about what happened in Chungdam?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chungdam? As in the Chungdam University nearby?” asked Mark as he munched on his sandwich.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaehyun nodded and passed his phone to Mark, which was displaying a news article from Twitter that he was reading just a few seconds ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Investigation for Chungdam University's female student who disappeared changes from missing person to kidnapping.” Mark grimaced in pain while reading the headline of the news article. “What's with the change?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The article said there was a tip off from a member of the public four hours after she was reported missing. A driver was checking his car's camera for something but he saw something uncanny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did the abduction get captured on his camera?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaehyun lifted his shoulders in a half shrug. “The article did not say much. Probably something like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the two of them were talking, Jaehyun spotted a familiar figure walking through the main gate of their campus.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Johnny hyung!” shouted Jaehyun as he raised his right hand in the air. Johnny stopped walking when he heard his name being called and turned around to wave back to his younger brother. Jaehyun began to walk a little faster to approach his brother, who was walking together with two of his colleagues.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oi hyung, what are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark, who was quickly following Jaehyun, raised a hand in greeting to Jaehyun's brother and his friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you heard about Chungdam?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, yeah? Is someone from our university involved?” asked Mark, who had already met Johnny a couple of times before this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny gestured to Mark and Jaehyun to lean in closer to him. He whispered, “Big problem. She was out drinking in a group, with some of your college mates. About half an hour later she was abducted, and it was caught on camera.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark and Jaehyun's eyes were wide in shock, because nothing as serious as that had ever happened in the area.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who is the female student?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can't tell you yet, at least not for now.” said Johnny. “By the way, Mark, this is Kim Doyoung, a detective in my team and this is Detective Police Nakamoto Yuta from Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. We're here to interrogate those students involved and get their alibis for that night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doyoung and Yuta exchanged smiles with Mark. They have previously met Jaehyun, because he was Johnny's younger brother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it's possible, can you bring us to...” Johnny trailed off while opening his e-mail application, to reconfirm where his team was supposed to go in Mark and Johnny's university. He continued, “Meeting Room 1 in Block F? Are the two of you having classes soon?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Both our classes are only starting in 30 minutes. We can bring you there,” said Mark.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The three men nodded and followed Mark and Jaehyun into the school. It was a good thing that they were all in plain clothes to avoid any unwanted attention. Not much had been disclosed to the public, so if people were to see two detectives and a police walking into a school, rumours would surely spread, which was the last thing that the investigators wanted. They were well aware of how much social media users love to sensationalize absolutely anything just for the internet's attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While they were walking, Jaehyun tried to make some small talk. “Do you have any idea why she might possibly be kidnapped?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doyoung shook his head. “The others are still investigating her family background, can't tell you much. We don't know whether she was taken away at random or was a specific target.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yuta chimed in, “Yeah, the only thing we can do now is to try our best to track her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you need the university students' alibis? Are they all suspects just because they were the last to see her before the abduction?” Mark asked, curious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It's because anyone could have kidnapped her. I mean, anything could have happened that night. We need to find out if any sort of dispute has happened so that we can rule out the possibility of one of them being the culprit. You really don't know what someone can do when they are provoked,” explained Yuta. He shuddered a little, remembering the brutality of some past cases.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds tough,” commented Mark.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Johnny nodded. “Hopefully we can find out what happened soon.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Four days after their previous Philosophy lesson, Mark and Hana had met up again to start doing their assignment. The ruthless Dr. Kim did not lower the minimum word limit despite objections from the entire class and kept it at three thousand words, so they had agreed on meeting up once this week and one more time the next week to complete it.</p><p>"Oi, Hana.”</p><p>“Is that a Hasegawa Kanata novel?”</p><p>“This?” Hana, who has not sat down yet, stretched her arm to the right to pick up the book sitting on top of her laptop. “Yeah, I like his books. Why?”</p><p>“Oh, for real? I like his books too!” said Mark excitedly as Hana passed the novel to him. He quickly turned the book titled ‘Spite' around and read through the synopsis lines at the back.</p><p>“Ah, really? You don't look like someone who enjoys reading.”</p><p>Mark laughed as he flipped through some random pages. “I have not been reading much these days. It all started from the Detective Conan comics in elementary school.”</p><p>“No way! You're a Detective Conan fan, too?” asked Hana in disbelief. </p><p>“Yes, that's how I found all those Japanese mystery books. They're good, man.”</p><p>Hana brought her chair closer to Mark, barely being able to contain her excitement. They found out that they both loved the same mystery and crime books and movies. With such a similar taste, a whole hour has passed just by talking about their favourite works.</p><p>This meeting was much less awkward and went smoother than the previous one, after finding out that they had the same hobby. Having a couple of new things to talk about gave Hana the opportunity to speak significantly more because it was always exciting to talk about something you have interest in. Mark discovered that even though she gave off the impression that she was indifferent, she was entertaining and really fun to have a conversation with. In fact, Mark would say that they were able to connect with each other.</p><p>Before they parted ways, Hana had even offered to lend Mark the novel because she was done reading it. He gladly took up the offer and promised to start reading it as soon as possible.</p><p>---</p><p>“How are you and Hana?” asked Jaehyun while they were walking into the building where Johnny's office was located. It was a Saturday and they were about to visit Johnny, out of boredom and not knowing where to hang out.</p><p>Listening to Johnny talking about the cases he was handling was fun, and they liked being involved in making speculations and creating theories as to why those crimes had happened. It had been so long since Mark and Jaehyun last visited Johnny's office because they have been so busy with school.</p><p>“Mm, fine? We got along well after a month of being partners.”</p><p>“Any chance of her being your soulmate?”</p><p>Mark squinted at Jaehyun. “You asked me this question four weeks ago.”</p><p>“That was for Mari. Do you even still like her? You don’t talk much about her anymore,” commented Jaehyun.</p><p>His best friend’s unforeseen question actually made Mark think and he realized that he had barely made any mentions of Mari in the past few weeks. It was probably because he did not see her around campus at all, and because he was always occupied with completing assignments that he did not even have any time to think about her.</p><p>He had also completely forgotten about the fortune teller, and her stupid predictions which still made no sense to him up till today.</p><p>They stepped into the elevator and Jaehyun pressed the button for the fourth storey of the office building. After a few seconds, he decided to attempt to mischievously provoke Mark after noticing that he was still trying to find an answer. “Or do you like Hana now?</p><p>His playful assumption caught Mark by surprise, as he had never expected Jaehyun to think that way. Definitely not, Mark thought.</p><p>He lightly punched Jaehyun’s muscular arm. “Stop speaking nonsense.”</p><p>Their conversation ended there when the elevator doors opened, with the entrance to Johnny’s office being right in front of it. They walked in and waved at the receptionist, who was already familiar with the two of them.</p><p>Mark pushed the door to enter the relaxation and leisure room, but he was nonplussed at the sight of his Philosophy partner sitting casually on the couch, watching a video on her phone.</p><p>Jaehyun, who was confused as to why Mark did not step in, peeked over his shoulder and saw Hana.</p><p>“Eh, Hana?” </p><p>Hana looked up from her phone and was as equally surprised to see Mark and Jaehyun standing at the door. She paused the video on her phone and took out the earbud she was wearing on her right ear.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” asked Mark and Hana at the same time, just as confused as the other.</p><p>“Damn, this feels like déjàvu.” Mark said, walking into the room with Jaehyun behind him. He recalled that time a month ago when he found out that Hana was his partner in Philosophy.</p><p>Hana told the two boys that she was here to meet one of the detectives, Johnny, for a short catch up.</p><p>“Where did you meet Jaehyun's brother? How do you know him?” </p><p>“Woah, what? Johnny is Jaehyun's brother?” Hana was surprised. Johnny had told her once that he had a brother studying in the same university as her, but she had never bothered to ask who he was. She had no idea at all that it was Jaehyun.</p><p>“Anyway, I used to work part time here. I just like to pop up sometimes.”</p><p>Jaehyun and Mark looked at each other at the same time as the surprises for today seemed to be never-ending. The mediocre conversation between the two of them quickly turned into a string of pointed questions for Hana while Jaehyun just remained silent.</p><p>“Wait, what are you majoring in?” </p><p>“I’m double majoring in Psychology and Criminology.”</p><p>Mark immediately took his seat on the couch opposite Hana and gushed, “For real? Why did you not tell me this?”</p><p>“You never asked.”</p><p>“But we were even talking about Hasegawa Kanata’s mystery and crime novels!”</p><p>“Still, you never asked.”</p><p>“Seriously, oh my God!” Mark made a fuss. “How can you hide something so cool from me?”</p><p>Hana stuck out a tongue at him. “I didn't know you'd be so fascinated with what I'm majoring in.”</p><p>Before Mark managed to answer, someone else had come in.</p><p>“Ya, what’s with all this bickering?”</p><p>At that moment, Johnny walked in and looked at the three young college students sitting on the couches in the relaxation and leisure room of his office.</p><p>“Huh? The three of you know each other?”</p><p>“Just recently. She and I are Philosophy partners.” Mark answered as he picked up a bottle of water provided on the table and twisted the cap around.</p><p>Hana stood up and walked towards Johnny who already had his arms open wide for her, as though inviting her into his embrace. Johnny lovingly stroked her hair while she wrapped her arms around his toned body.</p><p>“It's been so long since we met. I miss you, oppa!”</p><p>Mark started to cough violently and water spurted out of his mouth when he heard the word 'oppa' coming out of Hana. He frantically grabbed a couple of tissues to quickly wipe the table which had gotten wet with droplets of water and his saliva.</p><p>“What?” Hana broke free from the hug and frowned at Mark while the two brothers laughed at him. “I was just teasing Johnny. He hates being called oppa.”</p><p>“Ya, hyung can't stand being called oppa at all.” Jaehyun laughed. “I didn't know the two of you are this close.”</p><p>“She's already like a little sister to me,” explained Johnny as he sat down beside Jaehyun.</p><p>However, a few seconds later, Johnny got up again. He excused himself to get out of the room because he had left some food in the pantry.</p><p>“Do you need me to give you mouth-to-mouth breathing to deliver some oxygen, oppa?” Jaehyun sneered, mocking the boy who was still recovering from his coughing fit a while ago.</p><p>Mark shot daggers at Jaehyun as he drank more water to soothe his sore throat. He tried to imagine how stupid he looked like when he had overreacted, and almost hid his face in his palms. He was embarrassed beyond words.</p><p>Hana, on the other hand, acted like nothing happened. She merely scrolled through something on her phone while in actual fact, she was trying to hold back her laugh.</p><p>Mark was endearingly cute. He always tried to act cool but the way he reacted to certain things would never be able to hide how much of a dork he was. </p><p>“Are you here for any certain reason? Or do you not have anything else to do?” Johnny's question had snapped Hana out of her thoughts. He had returned with a plastic bag, containing a box filled with sushi inside. “I stopped by your favourite sushi store on the way here.”</p><p>“Hyung, none for me?” Jaehyun shamelessly interrupted, fake pouting when he saw that Johnny had bought sushi only for Hana.</p><p>Johnny tsked. “I didn't know the two of you were coming, if not, I would definitely have bought more.”</p><p>Hana laughed and opened the box. Johnny had bought so many sushi that she knew she would not be able to finish it. She popped one nigiri sushi into her mouth and extended her hand, offering the box to Jaehyun who was sitting opposite her.</p><p>Jaehyun shook his head and waved his hands dismissively. “Ahh, no, no. I was just joking, please have it all.”</p><p>“Don't be shy, please just take some. Johnny bought so many of them,” Hana proffered the box of sushi to Jaehyun over the coffee table, patiently waiting for him to take it.</p><p>Jaehyun sheepishly took the box and started choosing which sushi he wanted to eat first.</p><p>“Mark, feel free to take some too,” said Hana, looking at Mark who had been silent all this while. He nodded while still avoiding eye contact with her.</p><p>“Actually, I saw the news about the kidnapping this morning, and I really wanted to ask you about it.” Hana admitted. “The two cases are four weeks apart, but do you guys think that they are connected? Kidnappings are in no way something usual here, it's odd that two have happened within the span of four weeks.”</p><p>“I knew you came here to ask about that.” Johnny laughed humourlessly. “It's complicated. It really is.”</p><p>He began to explain what was going on. “Initially, we thought that the kidnapper was going after money because the first victim was from a rather well-to-do family. However, we waited and waited, but no call for ransom came in.”</p><p>“What is the motive of the abductor then?” asked Hana.</p><p>“That's the thing we can't figure out due to the lack of information on this case. As the two girls were abducted in a similar style, we believe that these two cases are connected. The abduction of the second girl had dispelled the theory of money being a motive because she is not from a rich family. In fact, she is actually studying on a scholarship.”</p><p>“Wait, in what way would they be connected? I mean, did you find anything in common between the two victims?” queried Mark, curiosity piqued after hearing what Johnny had just told them.</p><p>Jaehyun interrupted, “Sorry, but which university is the second victim from?”</p><p>“You can't tell outsiders this. Make sure whatever I say here, stays here.” Johnny sternly warned the three of them. “Apgujeong University, and no, we have not found anything in common between them.”</p><p>He continued, “The first victim was from Chungdam, while the second was from Apgujeong. Your university, Gwangjin, and Chungdam are nearby, but Apgujeong is pretty much on the other side of Seoul. Our team is currently digging their past, to find out if they ever went to the same school or anything like that.”</p><p>“Hmm.” Hana crossed her legs and leaned forward with one hand on her chin. “Have you considered physical appearance? What if this is a serial kidnapper going after girls with similar features?”</p><p>Johnny drew in a long breath. “We looked into that, but that possibility was ruled out. They look very different.”</p><p>“That's right,” said Doyoung, who was walking in with Yuta. “Eh, Hana. You're here? Jaehyun and friend too?”</p><p>“Mark!” Jaehyun jokingly scolded Doyoung. “You're so bad with names, hyung.”</p><p>He cackled with laughter. “I know. Sorry, Mark. I've only met you once.”</p><p>“No worries,” Mark replied, unbothered.</p><p>Doyoung plopped down beside Hana on the couch and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Ya cutie pie, how are you? Long time no see!”</p><p>Hana groaned and begged, “Oh my god, please shut up, Doyoung! Stop giving me weird pet names!” </p><p>“Aww, my sweet little baby girl, honey, sugar plum-” Hana groaned again, louder this time and repeatedly slapped Doyoung's back to make him stop talking, causing him to burst into laughter.</p><p>The other four men in the room looked on at the two of them with amused curiosity. Doyoung and Hana were so comfortable and affectionate with each other that they could be easily mistaken as siblings. It was cute.</p><p>“Leave her alone, Doyoung. You disturb her so much all the time,” said Johnny. “Also, has the situation at the headquarters gotten better? Are the reporters still crowding outside?”</p><p>“Wait, can I take one of those?” Yuta pointed to the box of sushi placed in the middle of the table. There were a few rolls left. After getting nods from the other four people in the room, he reached out and took two, giving one to Doyoung.</p><p>Yuta spoke first. “The situation is still bad. All of them are just demanding to know if there is a serial kidnapper on the loose.”</p><p>Doyoung nodded in agreement, adding on, “We made a good move to not disclose Apgujeong's name to the press. Did you see how they flocked to Chungdam's gates? That was madness.”</p><p>“Yes, the press would be having a field day at Apgujeong if they knew that. Hana, be more careful and try to avoid being alone in the streets at night.” Johnny looked up at the clock at the and stood up. “I need to leave for the police headquarters now. Feel free to stay for as long as you want here, but do not make a mess.”</p><p>“Okay, take care.”</p><p>The notification of a message from Lucas reminded Hana that they were going to meet at Daehangno Mall in twenty minutes. </p><p>“Hey, I need to leave now too. Take care, guys.” Hana got up from the sofa, and everyone else except Mark waved her goodbye.</p><p>Before she walked out, she shifted her attention to Philosophy partner, who was quietly eating a roll of sushi while looking at something on Jaehyun's phone. “Mark, I'll see you tomorrow at ten?”</p><p>Mark looked up at her and nodded. </p><p>“Yeah, see you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>kudos and comments will be soso appreciated :-)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was close to two in the morning, and Hana and Mark had been working on their essay for a few hours now at the 24 hours Daehak-ro Starbucks. They had met up at 10 pm, intending to finish their work by midnight, but it had dragged on until now because there was simply so much to do. The ruthless Dr. Kim, after four weeks, went absolutely mad and increased the minimum word limit further to four thousand words. The philosophy branch that they were covering for this fortnight's essay was tricky and complicated, and it was taking a long time for the two of them to piece together all their thoughts and information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark looked over his laptop. He stopped typing and stared at Hana, who was sitting opposite him with her chin resting on her palm. She did not even realize that he was staring because she had been nodding off a couple of times in the past few minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hana, we can go back now if you're sleepy,” offered Mark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm?” Hana looked at Mark with half-closed eyelids, obviously struggling to stay awake. “We need to hand this in tomorrow.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought for a moment. “It's fine; I can finish up the rest of the work on my own. It's just a little bit more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No dude, we're in this together,” said Hana groggily as she shook her head and stopped slouching. She quickly brought her hand up to cover her mouth as she let out a yawn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark shook his head in disapproval. Without saying anything to Hana, he got up from his seat and walked to the counter to order something. Probably buying more coffee for himself, Hana thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later, Mark came back carrying two cups of hot coffee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I was sleepy, but I didn't ask you to buy coffee for me!” chided Hana as Mark swung the cup of hot coffee in front of her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you still so grouchy even when you're half asleep?” teased Mark, making Hana scowl. “Just take it. Let's do this somewhere else.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark began to pack his things. He picked up his empty cup of frappuccino and went to throw it in the bin provided nearby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let's go,” said Mark as he slung his backpack over his right shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what's going on? Where do you want to go?” asked Hana, puzzled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We've been here for four hours. Let's take some fresh air outside, and then we can resume work afterwards.” Hana still did not budge; instead, she just pushed her laptop to the space in front that was previously occupied by Mark's laptop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mark, I'm lazyyyyyy,” Hana whined as she rested her head on the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blood rushed to Mark's cheeks and he could feel his face heating up as he started to wonder why the grumpy, sleepy, and whiny Hana was so cute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>The fuck am I thinking?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Mark aggressively shook his head as though it could help in getting rid of those thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark placed the two cups of coffee on the table. He closed Hana's laptop and placed all her stationeries back into her pencil case, keeping both of them inside her bag. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hana, let's go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Noooo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark took a step forward and leaned down in a swift motion, face dangerously close to Hana's. “Get up now before I carry you bridal style out of this cafe.” Mark's deep voice, coupled with the feeling of his breath on her neck gave Hana goosebumps. He smiled in an irritatingly smug way when Hana immediately shot up from her seat, eyes narrowing at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is your problem?” Hana grumbled as she snatched her bag from the table, storming out of the cafe grouchily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ya, I was just kidding!” Mark laughed as he took the coffee cups on the table and went after her. He managed to slip through the closing door just before it shut completely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So where are we going?” questioned Hana, who was already standing outside with her back leaning against the wall. Another yawn escaped from her lips. “Are you planning to murder me or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don't even have the heart to kill a bug.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How soft of you.” Hana cooed mockingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark chuckled lightly. “Shut up and walk beside me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite clicking her tongue in irritation, Hana still nodded and walked beside him. He turned to the left and walked straight ahead. Hana, knowing the area by heart, made a guess that he was about to bring her to a kids' playground nearby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>True enough, the kids' playground was where Mark brought her to. He placed his bag down at the side of the metal swing set, and Hana followed suit. He offered the cup of coffee to her, and this time, she took it. They took their seats on the swing, sipping their hot drinks slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the daytime, the playground would be bustling with children gleefully running around and making friends.  These two swings would always be taken up all the time, and it was common to see children fighting to sit on them. Of course, when it's past midnight, no kids would be out playing. This left Mark and Hana as the only souls present.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two had their eyes closed. The wind that night was intense, continuously blowing Hana and Mark's hair into their faces. It was so peaceful. Mark felt like time had stopped for him because everything was so still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was also enjoying the serenity with his company, who was staring off into space with both hands tightly wrapped around her plastic coffee cup. She seemed to be deep in thought, and he wondered what was on her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” asked Mark, straight to the point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His question made her face him. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seem so exhausted today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hana sighed as she averted her gaze into her reflection in the coffee. “I… I'm…” She could not find the right word to say. “Just really tired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was this week really tiring for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, yeah, I guess so. Many long classes… Deadlines after deadlines… Sunday was supposed to be a rest day. But here I am,” vented Hana, falling into vulnerability while gently pushing the swing. She could feel her eyelids getting heavy, so she drank more coffee in an attempt to get rid of her sleepiness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's okay. I'm drained too. We're all struggling, aren't we?” Mark gave encouragement, because he knew well enough how tired she was. After all, they were going through the same thing. The same difficult school life. She nodded in agreement as she finished her drink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark stood up, making the swing he sat on before this sway unsteadily. The quiet squeaking sound coming from the rusted chains was eerie, but he was glad that he was not alone there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gripped the sturdy ropes supporting the wooden bench and slowly pushed them back and forth, enjoying the feeling of being almost floating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, how much work are you left with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm.” Hana stretched out her legs which were starting to feel numb. “Actually, I’m already done. Just left with the editing that we need to do together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll finish this quickly and then we can go back, okay? We can just do it on my laptop.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark took both their bags and walked over to the bench that parents always sat down on when they were watching their kids play. Hana took her bag from him and proceeded to sit beside him on the bench. She hugged her Jansport backpack and rested her chin on top of it while waiting for Mark to open the essay document.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They discussed a few points in the essay, and after they were done with that, Hana just continued sitting down, quietly observing him making amendments to their assignment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mark, should we change the sentence structure for this? It sounds a little awkward.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, which? I can't tell which sentence you're talking about,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hana suddenly moved in so much closer to him to lean forward and point out the sentence on the laptop screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, Jesus Christ. This is awkward. It's been a while since I last had a girlfriend.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mark thought as he jerked back, forgetting that he was sitting on a bench.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, uh, okay, got it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Mark continued typing, Hana started to doze off again. She had tried her best to fight off the desire of wanting to sleep, but she could not do it anymore. The wind was making her eyes feel heavier and heavier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Hana, do you think we should change this sentence? I think it would sound better if we...” Hana could hear Mark's voice, but the longer he spoke, the more she could not make out what he was saying. At some point in time, his low, gentle voice had even mingled with the soft rustling sounds of leaves on the trees, resulting in the creation of a calming and soothing lullaby for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hana?” Mark looked away from his laptop to see that Hana had fallen asleep. Her chin was supported by her bag, which she was tightly hugging and her mouth was slightly open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, I feel so bad. I swear, giving four thousand words with a two week-deadline has to be illegal. Dr. Kim is an absolute madman,” complained Mark under his breath, not wanting to wake her up. He typed faster, intending to finish as soon as he could so that they could go back. He just needed to edit only a few sentences left, and the essay would be completed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He quickly corrected some words in the last few sentences and saved the document. Mark then closed his laptop and kept it in his bag. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hana started to squirm, causing Mark to think that she had woken up, which was a relief to him because he was figuring out how to wake her up. But instead, she unexpectedly leaned to the side to rest her head on the boy's shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Feels like the pillow in my room,” muttered Hana before continuing to drift off into the oblivion of sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark's body froze, and he could feel his heart beating a little faster the moment Hana’s head landed on his shoulder. He craned his neck a little because he wanted to take this chance to look at her while she was sleeping while still minimizing his movements.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she was awake and Mark was looking at her for more than a few seconds, she would surely tell him off and annoyedly question what he was looking at. Mark tried to suppress a chuckle as the image of Hana's grouchy face whenever he teased her came to his mind. She was always so easily irritable, but it never lasted for long, and it was more of a playful sort of reaction that was not to be taken seriously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark had to admit that Hana was alluring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though she did not smile much, whenever she did, it was genuine and beautiful. Even though she always looked so nonchalant all the time, she cared for the people around her and treated everyone well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The light from the tall street lamp behind them had cast an artificial glow onto her face, enhancing her features. Mark could see some traces of make-up on her face, but it was light and simple.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark had to admit that Hana was a natural beauty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few strands of hair had fallen across her face as her chest was slowly rising and falling. Her bag was now placed horizontally on her lap as her arms were placed on top of it. Mark felt like he wanted to touch her hair and tuck it behind her ear, but he knew that he had to respect her and not touch her without permission, even when she was not awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath in, thinking about how at this moment, it felt like it was just him and Hana in this world. As he continued to look at her calm sleeping face, all the thoughts and worries about the upcoming deadlines, maintaining a decent GPA, handling annoying professors, and everything else just seemed to fade away. In all seriousness, he would not mind being here forever, with Hana peacefully sleeping on his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mark, Mark,” whispered Hana as she tried to push him away from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark opened his eyes and almost jumped out of his skin when he realized the position they were in right now. Hana was hugging him, and his arm was draped around her shoulder. He must have fallen asleep at some point in time. He quickly let go and stood up, instinctively taking his phone out of his pocket to look at the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit, dude! It's four a.m.!” exclaimed Mark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hana immediately got up from the bench and rapidly walked away with her head down, embarrassed at how they had fallen asleep on the bench, and had hugged each other at some point in time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, wait! Where are you going?” Mark shouted as he ran after her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“M-my dorm! Where else?” Hana answered without turning around. She increased her pace, not wanting to be near Mark anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait! I'll send you back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don't have to! It's not that far-” Hana stopped when Mark's hand grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I'll walk you back to your dorm, okay? It's dangerous for you to be walking alone at four in the morning.” Mark tenderly reminded her as he let go of her arm. “There's already a second victim.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hana finally slowed down, allowing him to walk beside her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark did not know why a sudden feeling of happiness and contentment crept into his heart.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Hey, you good? Did you manage to get sleep?” asked Mark to Hana who was pulling out the chair beside him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinda.” Hana quickly covered her mouth as she yawned. “I'm sort of having a headache though. But it's okay! I can catch up on sleep tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I see. I'm sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, for taking so long to do the essay, and for- For… Falling asleep on the-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, I would not like to remember that.” Hana cut Mark off before he could continue while facepalming herself. “I have to apologize for falling asleep on your shoulder first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark laughed. He really did not mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's alright. Take this,” said Mark while placing a small plastic bag in front of Hana.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hana's face contorted into a quizzical expression, as she was not expecting to be given anything by Mark. She brought the small plastic bag closer to her and looked at the content inside. There was a bottle of mineral water, some over-the-counter medication to treat a headache, and two bars of dark chocolate along with a text written on a small piece of paper which stated: 'For Hana, please rest well. You've worked hard!'</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark's small handwritten note managed to put on a smile on Hana's face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I'm sorry, this is all I managed to get for you. It's just that I had a feeling you're gonna feel unwell in a way or another, from last night. I'm not sure what else to buy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I'm the one who should apologize. Thank you for being sweet and thoughtful. I'm really sorry that I didn't buy you anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don't apologize, I know how drained you are right now. There's no need to get me anything. You're the one with a headache.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really, thank you. I appreciate this so much, Mark.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don't worry about it. You're welcome,” Mark replied with a sincere smile plastered on his face. Their small talk ended there because Dr. Kim had entered the class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Four days later,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your essays are collectively getting better. I can see huge improvements in some pairs, like Mark and Hana, as well as Jeno and Jaemin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course, old man.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Mark thought. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>We stayed up until bloody 4 am to do your work.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Kim walked over to Mark and Hana's table to pass them their essay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take some time to look through the essay and read my comments.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, sir, thank you.” Mark said politely. Dr. Kim nodded and moved on to the next pair to pass their essays to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Congratulations, we did so well!” Hana enthused over their essay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you've done well, Hana.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You too, Mark.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking at how happy and satisfied Hana was with their outstanding piece of work, Mark felt as though they deserved to have a break together. He recalled the long hours they had spent writing essays after essays, and a part of Mark started wishing that they could spend all that time doing something more fun instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, um, Hana,” Mark softly called.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm?” Hana responded while skimming through Dr. Kim's remarks on their 4000-words Philosophy essay. A while later, she stopped reading it to turn her head to pay attention to Mark. With her chin resting in the palm of her left hand, Hana looked at Mark and raised her eyebrow, to signal to him to continue talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, I was thinking of something. I kinda wanted to ask you… Wait.” Mark paused abruptly and shook his head. “Okay, maybe not. I'm not sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it? You can just say it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I was just thinking, maybe… Would you like to go to this bookstore that I really like? We've been hustling, so I just thought like, maybe we could chill there and like, look at some books or something? Wait, I'm not asking you out on a date or anything, I swear it's just-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mark.” Hana suddenly put her index finger to Mark's lips, making him silent at an instant. She removed her finger the moment he stopped talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry for that. Please chill, Mark. You're cute, I am more than happy to go to one of your favourite bookstores with you, okay? Let's go on Sunday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh my fucking god, did Hana just call me cute? Park Hana called me cute?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mark tried his very best to stop himself from breaking out into a huge, ear-to-ear grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He exhaled a shaky breath before replying, “Okay, I'll text you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span class="u">SATURDAY, 4:44 P.M.</span>
    </em>
  </p>
</div><div>
  <p>
    <em>*one new notification*</em>
  </p>
</div><p>HANA:<br/>- hi mark, are we going tomorrow?<br/>- because if we're not then i'll go out<br/>with someone else</p><p>
  <span>Mark almost jumped on his bed the moment his phone lit up with a notification from Hana. He had spent almost half an hour on his bed mulling over whether he should text Hana.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Indeed, Mark told Hana that he would text her, but he was so uncertain. Mark did not know why he was being so hesitant. Perhaps because he did not know if Hana even remembered about his suggestion of visiting a bookstore together. Perhaps also because Mark did not even know if Hana wanted to spend time with him outside Philosophy.</span>
</p><p></p><div>
  <p>MARK:<br/>- oh yeah dude we are<br/>- if that's fine by you?</p>
</div><p>HANA:<br/>- of course it's fine!<br/>- so where is this bookstore</p><p></p><div>
  <p>MARK:<br/>- i'll bring you there<br/>- let's meet at the bus stop <br/>outside campus at 10 a.m.?</p>
</div><p>HANA:<br/>- okay i'll see you then</p><p></p><div>
  <p>MARK:<br/>- yeah see you</p>
</div><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The next day,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun just finished eating breakfast with another friend outside and was going back to his shared dorm room with Mark. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was shocked to be greeted with a sight of an extremely messy room, which was unusual because both of them always made sure that their room was clean. Going back to a cluttered and untidy room after a long, tiring day at campus was not really something desirable to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were clothes everywhere. There were several clothes piled up on Mark's bed and a few pants laid out on the floor with Mark frantically walking around, picking up and putting down clothes, unable to decide on what to wear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell, Mark? What have you done to our room?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment Mark heard his roommate's voice, he turned around and picked up a few pieces of garments from his bed. He then quickly walked over to Jaehyun who had just closed the door and was placing his backpack at the foot of his bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, Jaehyun, I'm going crazy! What should I wear?” Mark pressed the clothes, which were still hung on the hangers, against his body. “Why did I even ask her to go out with me? How can I look good and casual without overdressing? Should I wear this hoodie, or should I wear just a striped shirt, or should I-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun cut him halfway. “Calm down Mark, you're babbling. Where are you going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, n-nothing. It's just- It's just that I'm going out with Hana in a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you panicking so much?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun's question made Mark come to the realization that he was over-reacting. The clothes he was holding dropped to the floor and Mark sat at the edge of his bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Why am I being so agitated?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>It's just Hana. It's not even a date. I don't even like her or anything like that,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Mark thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark had casually asked Hana whether she wanted to visit his favourite bookstore. He just wanted to have a small celebration with her, an opportunity to chill together after a couple of weeks working on essays with each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So why is he freaking out so much? Mark tried to convince himself that he was just acting that way because it's been months since he had last spent time together with a girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesus, don't let your tops get crumpled!” Jaehyun quickly swooped up the clothes that had landed on the floor and tried to smoothen them out with his bare hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few seconds later, his lips curled up into a half-grin. “On second thought, it's fine that you're panicking. Being nervous for your first date is normal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut your damn mouth, Jaehyun! It's not a date!” Mark's voice raised a pitch higher as he threw a random shirt on his bed towards Jaehyun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun managed to dodge the shirt thrown by Mark and laughed at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever. Wear that plain white shirt-” Jaehyun suggested as he pointed at the shirt behind Mark. He put down the clothes in his arms on Mark's bed and examined the pile of clothes for a while before pulling out a plaid grey flannel and passing it to Mark. “-and wear this over it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun then bent down to pick up a light blue ripped jeans from the ground and tossed it to Mark who had been quietly, patiently observing him. He went to Mark's wardrobe and took a black cap that he knew Mark occasionally wore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get going. You'll definitely look good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark stood up after placing Jaehyun's chosen outfit beside him on the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you fashion god Jung Jaehyun, I know I can always depend on you,” Mark pretended to bow at Jaehyun and laughed at the way his best friend rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark immediately took off the sleeveless shirt he was currently wearing and put on the white shirt that Jaehyun had pointed at earlier. He was about to pull down his shorts, but he was stopped by Jaehyun before he could do so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Turn the fuck around, idiot! Do you think I wanna see your d-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My god, okay! Okay, I know!” With a broad smile on his face, Mark turned around and changed into the pair of jeans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark placed the cap on his head and adjusted it around while looking into the mirror. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” Jaehyun grabbed his best friend's hand and rolled up the sleeves around his wrist area a little. “There you go. Wow, dashing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure- Wait, crap, I'm going to be late. Thanks for the outfit and for cleaning the room, baby! I love you!” exclaimed Mark while grabbing his phone and wallet, thereafter running out of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun shook his head in disapproval, but at the same time he was extremely amused with how wacky Mark could be sometimes. However, wacky or not, Mark had left him with all this mess. Jaehyun sighed before picking up all the strewn clothes on the floor and putting them on Mark's bed. Being the good roommate he was, Jaehyun folded them all one-by-one and arranged them back nicely in Mark's wardrobe. Mark definitely owed him a favour.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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